Page 81 of The Last Thing You Said

“Come on, hon,” she says to me, and even in my hazy state I know that there is no way I can get out of this. “I know what you like.”

And then, before I really know what’s happening, I hear Blondie’s “The Tide Is High” coming from the small, tinny speakers.

We sing and dance, and for a minute or two I forget that Ben is there. Then Dana comes back down the stairs and hands Ben a beer. When I look up again, Simon is standing next to the karaoke machine, scrolling through the display. Hannah and I bow to Guthrie’s weak applause. She bounds over to the couch, scoots onto Guthrie’s lap, and kisses him. I have to look away.

“Hey,” Simon says, “sing with me.” He pulls me close, his arms around my waist.

“Where’ve you been?” I ask.

He smiles. “Down by the lake. And the fire pit. This place is amazing.”

“You’ve been here before,” I snap. “What’s so amazing about it this time?”

He drops his arms away from me. “What’s the matter? Did I do something wrong?”

Yes. He did something wrong. He’s been nice to me all summer; he’s tried to love me and that’s his big mistake.

I shake my head.

“Lucy, are you drunk?” He moves his hands back to my waist, pulls me close.

I snort. “Well, yes, aren’t you?”

He nuzzles my neck, and I can smell tequila on his breath. My stomach lurches. “Sing with me,” he murmurs.

“I don’t sing karaoke.”

“Really? What were you doing just now? Singing karaoke, right, with Hannah?”

“Yes, but, um, my catalog is pretty limited.”

He pulls back and looks at me, a half smile playing on his lips like he’s not sure if he should laugh or be angry. “Your catalog is limited,” he repeats.

“That’s what I said.”

“How limited? Or is it that you don’t want to sing with me?” He looks hurt.

I’m tired and drunk and I don’t want to fight with Simon, because isn’t that where this is going? I don’t want to fight with Simon in front of Ben.

Ben must want to fight with Simon though, because he stands up and steps in between us, his face close to Simon’s. How did he hear us?

“She sings three songs, dickwad. Three.”

My insides flip. Ben remembers.

Simon gives Ben a small push, then steps back when Ben doesn’t move. “Oh, yeah?” Simon’s voice cracks a little. “What three?”

Like it matters.

“Blondie, ‘The Tide Is High.’ Prince, ‘I Would Die 4 U.’ Britney Spears, ‘. . . Baby One More Time.’” Ben ticks them off on his fingers.

“Come on, Ben,” Dana says. When did Dana come back? She’s standing next to Ben, her hand on his arm.

“How the hell would you know?” Simon says. He turns toward me. “Why do you keep letting this guy mess with you, Lucy? You deserve someone much better.”

Now Ben pushes Simon, who staggers back toward the wall. “I suppose you think you’re that someone?”

Hannah bounces up from the couch and laughs, puts herself right in between them. “Ben, that sounds like a line from a bad movie. Now why don’t you move along and leave this poor boy alone? Go on.”